jueves, 26 de abril de 2012

Preposition with Adjective.

1. List of common adjectives and the prepositions that normally follow them

accustomed to

afraid of

answerable to

attached to

aware of

capable of

dependent on

different to

doubtful about

enthusiastic about

excited about

famous for

fond of

guilty of

interested in

keen on

opposed to

pleased with

popular with

proud of

related to

rich in

satisfied with

serious about

similar to

suitable for

suspicious of

used to (= accustomed to)

2. Some adjectives can be followed by either of two or more prepositions

annoyed aboutsomething The Ministry was annoyed about criticism in the paperannoyed withsomeone They were. annoyed with us for charging themgood/bad atsomething I’m very bad at mathematics.good/bad forsomething The expected cut in interest will be good for industry.good/bad withsomething She should be in Marketing. She’s very good with customers.responsible tosomeone The Export Manager is responsible to the Sales Director.responsible forsomething He is responsible for preparing handouts.sorry aboutsomething I am sorry about the job. It’s a shame you didn’t get it.sorry fordoing something He said he was sorry for keeping me waiting.
(feel) sorry for someone I feel very sorry for Peter. He has been fired.

3. These combinations of adjectives with prepositions may be followed by noun or noun phrase.
The students were very excited about the results of the experiment.

4. When followed by a verb, the -ing form must be used.
Please let me know whether you would be interested in arranging a meeting.

martes, 24 de abril de 2012

a = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) with consonants
She has a dog.
I work in a factory.

an = indefinite article (not a specific object, one of a number of the same objects) with vowels (a,e,i,o,u)
Can I have an apple?
She is an English teacher.

the = definite article (a specific object that both the person speaking and the listener know)
The car over there is fast.
The teacher is very good, isn't he?

The first time you speak of something use "a or an", the next time you repeat that object use "the".
I live in a house. The house is quite old and has four bedrooms.
I ate in a Chinese restaurant. The restaurant was very good.

DO NOT use an article with countries, states, counties or
provinces, lakes and mountains except when the country is a collection
of states such as "The United States".
He lives in Washington near Mount Rainier.
They live in northern British Columbia.

Use an article with bodies of water, oceans and seas -
My country borders on the Pacific Ocean

DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about things in general
I like Russian tea.
She likes reading books.

DO NOT use an article when you are speaking about meals, places, and transport
He has breakfast at home.
I go to university.
He comes to work by taxi.

jueves, 19 de abril de 2012

martes, 17 de abril de 2012

Quantifiers are a type of determiner which denote imprecise quantity. They differ from numbers or numerals which indicate precise quantity.

The most common examples:the most common quantifiers used in English are:

some / any , much, many, a lot, a few, several, enough.

There are three types of quantifier;1. neutral quantifiers,2. quantifiers of large quantity, and3. quantifiers of small quantity

1. Neutral quantifiers:

Some and any: several, a number of, enoughSomeand any are both quantifiers and articles. In many contexts, some is the plural indefinite article, the plural of "a" or "an"; but more often, some implies a limited quantity, and for this reason has the value of a quantifier.

Some is used in affirmative statements; it is replaced with any in negative and interrogative contexts.

Examples:I've got some apples in my basket and some water in my bottle. I haven't got any apples in my basket, nor any water in my bottle. Have you got any apples in your basket? Have you got any water in your bottle? We had some visitors last weekend, but we didn't have any this weekend Have you got any rooms free for the night of September 30th ?

Severaland a number of imply "more than one, but less than a lot". They are not usually used in negative or interrogative structures, only in affirmative statements. For example

There are several books / a number of books by J.Z.Plummerman in our library. Several people / A number of people said that they'd seen the missing child.

Enough implies a sufficient quantity; it is used in affirmations, negations and questions.

We can get tickets for the concert, I've got enough money now.Have you got enough money for the tickets?

IMPORTANT NOTE: Muchand manyare not often used, in modern spoken English, in affirmative statements; but they are very commonly used in interrogative and negative contexts.

Examples:I have many reasons for thinking that this man is innocent is acceptable, but rather formal; most English speakers would more naturally say: I have plenty of / a lot of / a large number of reasons for thinking .....Much whisky is of very good quality. This sentence is technically acceptable, but not probable in modern English. Most people would say (and write): A lot of whisky / A good proportion of whisky / Plenty of whisky ......

Remember this principle: don't use much or many in affirmative statements.

► Lots of, a lot of, plenty of, a large number of, numerous .These expressions all mean more or less exactly the same. In the list above, they are arranged in order of formality, going from the most informal (lots of) to the most formal (numerous). Informal language is more appropriate in dialogue, formal language in written documents.

3. Small quantity quantifiers:

► few, a few, little, a little, not many, not much, a small number of, etc.

These quantifiers are normally only used in affirmative statements, to which they give a negative colouring.

► Little, a little, not muchare used with non count nouns (always in the singular) Few, a few, not manyare used with count nouns in the plural.

Examples:Few people can speak more than three languagesA few (of the) paintings in this gallery are really good.There's little point in trying to mend it. You'll never succeed!I've got a little money left; let's go and have a drink.

4 Recapitulation: table of usage for common English quantifiers

Affirmative

Negative

Interrogative

Neutral

some, several, a number of, enough

any, enough

any, enough

Large quantity

numerous, plenty of, a lot of, lots of, too many

much, many, too many

much, many, too many

Small quantity

few / a few, Little / a little

5. Few or a few, little or a little ?

The difference between the two expressions in each phrase is purely one of meaning, not of usage.Without the article, few and little (used respectively with count nouns and non-count nouns) have the meaning of "not much/ not many, and possibly less than one might hope for or expect". These expressions have a negative value to them.With the article, a few and a little have the meaning of "at least some, perhaps more than one might expect" . These expressions have a positive value.

Examples:Few of my friends were there, so I was disappointed.A few of my friends were there, so I was quite happy.Hurry up; there's little time left !We have a little time to spare, so let's stop and have a cup of coffee.